Don’t let the casual look on the face of my friend to the left fool you; the Plaza Flamingo establishment is one of the hottest tickets in downtown Toronto.  It’s not exactly a nightclub, a dance hall or a restaurant, but it has elements of all three. 

Rather than forcing you to walk from place to place in order to get the full entertainment that you want your evening to have, the Plaza Flamingo provides it all.  Here’s just a small overview of the different things that you can do and have done when you dine at the Plaza Flamingo.

Dining

Dinner at the Plaza Flamingo is definitely something to be desired and cherished.  Everything that you order is cooked in the Latin American style.  Dishes from all over South America are present on the restaurant menu, here are just some samples to allow you to whet your appetite.

Appetizers: Jumbo shrimp, baked mushrooms stuffed with crabmeat and steamed ocean mussels are just three of the dishes that you can choose from.

Grilled Meats: In this department, two of the highlights are the special Argentinean dish (combination of beef, chicken and sausage) and a fantastic grilled dish featuring both steak and shrimp.

There are also specialty items, seafood sensations, desserts, pastas and cocktails readily available for you to partake of when you dine at the Plaza Flamingo.  Additionally, if lunch is your meal, then you can actually choose to opt for the $7.95 lunch buffet and get a chance to try a bit of everything!

Dancing

Dining is not the only thing that you can do at Plaza Flamingo.  You can also incorporate dancing into your evening, either by actually doing it yourself or by watching others do it.

Plaza Flamingo offers many different dance shows for you to show up for and most of these shows of course feature Flamenco dancing.  One of the most beautiful forms of dancing in the world, it is definitely a sight to behold and you can see it right in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Of course, if just watching isn’t really your thing, why not get up on the dance floor and actually participate?  You and a partner can jive along to music either in a swing or a Latin style depending on the night and if you want to go even further then you can actually get dance lessons at Plaza Flamingo and be involved in one of the shows they give for the people that are eating at the restaurant.  The choice is yours, but all of the choices are extremely fun!

General Information

Plaza Flamingo is located at 423 College Street, which happens to be on College just east of Bathurst. 

The closest subway station is the Spadina subway station on the Bloor subway line.  Getting off at this station requires a walk down Spadina to College and then west on College until you get to 423.

Alternatively, you can get off at the Queen’s Park subway station on the University subway line.  Getting off at this station requires walking west on College until you get to 423 or taking the 506 Streetcar west a few stops.  If you opt for the latter option, make sure you get a transfer inside the station before you leave!

More information regarding Plaza Flamingo can be found by calling (416) 603-8884.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Well, if you’re going to be in Toronto sometime during the next few days, you’ll have a chance to catch a performance of As You Like It April 16^th-19^th as the ending of a production that started in February looms.

Event: As You Like It

Location: Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Mill Street (MAP)

Closest Subway Station: King Subway Station on the Yonge Line

Cost: $34 to $65 depending on where in the theatre you want to sit

Dates: April 16, April 17, April 18 and April 19

Times: 7:30 PM each day

More Info: Phone 416-866-8666 or visit http://www.soulpepper.ca

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Photo Credit: Sony Centre by StarbuckGuy on Flickr, used under the CCA 2.0 License

The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto is locted at the intersection of Front and Yonge, giving it one of the most ideal locations in the city.  Close enough to the downtown core to attract people from all over the city yet far enough away from it to make great use of the nearby lake scenery, the Sony Centre is one of the most popular performing arts venues in the whole city.  One of their current productions which started yesterday and is ending on Saturday, is Rent.

Rent is the story about young people growing up in the East Village of New York and learning to survive, maturing throughout the process.  A story of love, loss and living in the moment, it is a performance with elements that almost anyone can relate to.

Details

Event: Rent
Date: March 19, 2008 to March 22, 2008
Time: 8 PM daily with an additional 2 PM show on March 22, 2008
Cost: Varies from $47.50 to $77.50 depending on the location in the theatre
Location: The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East (MAP)
Closest Subway Station: Union Subway Station on the Yellow Line
More Information: Phone 416-393-7476

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Mozart

Mozart has a number of distinctions as a composer, not least of which is his ability to be consistently prolific throughout his whole life.  He actually put out over 600 different compositional works throughout his lifetime and many of them are still considered classics today, showing how influential he was in his classical compositional skin.

At one point in the year 1783, Mozart and his wife had stopped over in the town of Linz in the country of Austria on their way back home to Vienna.  When the local court heard that the great Mozart had stopped over in their town, representatives were sent to fetch Mozart and request that he write a symphony for a concert that they would be holding in honour of his arrival.  Mozart quite graciously agreed to compose the symphony and a mere four days later the Linz Symphony was born.  Known formally as Mozart’s 36th Symphony, this piece of work will be played as the Mozart part of the concert.

Haydn

Haydn is another very influential composer in the same tradition as Mozart, although it can be argued by some that Haydn is more influential amongst actual musicians and composers whereas Mozart is better known amongst lay people.  Two of Haydn’s nicknames are “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet” and just like his fellow composer Mozart, Haydn spent all of his life residing in the country of Austria.  He also came from a very musically inclined family, with one brother that was a well known composer and another that was a well known tenor singer.

The work that will be performed at the concert from Haydn is the Symphony 82 work, also sometimes referred to as the “Bear Symphony”.  The Bear Symphony is the first of Haydn’s Paris Symphonies, a series of six symphonies that were commissioned as works by the Concerts de la Loge Olympique in the city of Paris.

Bach

Bach was a baroque composer from Germany that did most of his work a few decades before either Mozart or Haydn had started on their compositional endeavours.  Bach is commonly thought of as being the composer that provided structure to the overall baroque period in composition and eventually brought that period to its ultimate conclusion.

Bach’s piece is the twist to this concert as the selection from his works that will be played is his Cello Suite #1 in G Major which actually represents a Canadian premiere of that particular work.

Event: Mozart and Haydn + Bach Downtown

Date: February 17, 2008

Time: 3:30 PM

Cost: $29-$68 for adults depending on seating location, $23-$61 for children

Location: Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (MAP)

Closest Subway Station: Spadina Station

More Information: Phone (416-964-6337), E-Mail (info@tafelmusik.org) and Internet (http://www.tafelmusik.org)

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Tamerlano premiered in the King’s Theatre in London on October 31, 1724.  It was actually co-produced by Italian lyricist Nicola Francesco Haym, although Handel was able to produce the music to this masterpiece in less than three weeks time!  Ever since its premier, Tamerlano has been very popular all over the world and it is performed at many different times throughout the year in some of the most prestigious opera houses of the world.

The actual opera itself does have some historical significance, as the character of the Ottoman Emperor Bajazet is based on a real historical figure.  In any case, the story is about the fall of the Emperor and the rise of the title character Tamerlano, who is the Emperor of the Tartars (Mongols).  Other major characters in the play include Asteria (the daughter of Emperor Bajazet) and Irene (Tamerlano’s bride to be).

While perhaps not quite fun for the whole family, at the same time it is a must for any music lover and a definite must for anyone that is an opera buff.

The screening will be taking place at 2:30 PM today at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.  The Centre is located at 27 Front Street East which is quite close to King Subway Station.  Ticket prices are either $28.00 or $38.00 depending on where in the centre you want to sit and more information about the event can be obtained by calling 416-366-7723.

On a separate note regarding the blog, I’m still in the process of getting things back in order following the prolonged sickness I just had.  You’ll probably be getting these barebones posts for another day or so while I get things in order and at the moment I’m projecting that on Monday morning I’ll be able to sit down and give everything related to the blog the time it deserves.  At that point, I’ll be getting back to the more involved posts you’ve come to expect from The Toronto Traveler (and I’ll be replying to e-mails at that point as well, in case anyone has contacted me).

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is going to be kicking off their Mozart Festival at Roy Thomson Hall through the performance of Symphony Number 40 by Mozart, with one of Canada’s best soprano opera singers featured in the event.  The price for seats in Roy Thomson Hall start at $20 for this event and considering that most of the seats in the hall itself are excellent for musical concerts, this is definitely something you should take a closer look at if you are going to be in the Toronto area and free the day of the concert.

Event: Mozart Festival, Symphony Number 40 by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Date: January 17-19

Cost: Tickets start at $20

Location: Roy Thomson Hall (map)

Closest Subway Station: St. Andrew

For More Information: 416-872-4255

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

The first time that The Nutcracker was presented was in the city of St. Petersburg in Russia in 1892.  It is a tale of the wonderment of a child’s mind and over time it also grown to become synonymous with the celebration of Christmas.  To that end, The National Ballet of Canada started performing their version of The Nutcracker at The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on the 8th of this month and the current tour will be wrapping up shortly on December 30th.  There are still tickets left for the December 28th at 1PM and December 30th at 2PM shows, with the latter actually being the finale of the whole tour.

The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is located basically right next to Osgoode Subway Station and there are signs that will lead you to the right place from the actual station itself.  One of the advantages of the Four Seasons is the fact that it tends to be a bit cheaper and in the specific case of The Nutcracker you can actually get tickets for as little as $20.  So, if you are still in the mood for getting some post-Christmas cheer, stop by and see one of the final shows of The Nutcracker!

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

The City Playhouse Theatre is set to be host to one of the most interesting events of early 2008 when they roll out the red carpet (or rather, should that be the green carpet?) for the 2008 Green Reel Environmental Film Festival.

The festival is designed to have a number of different documentaries as well as mainstream and independent productions shown at it.  The only real requirement for a particular feature to be shown at the festival is that it needs to have an environmental theme of some kind.  When this was weighed by the directors of the festival, a list of over twenty different films were selected to be screened for free in some places and for a small admission fee of $4 in other places.

Here are some films that are going to be shown:

A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

The Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies

Black Gold

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Sicko

Being Caribou

Toxic Trespass

Perhaps the one major drawback of this event is the fact that getting to it is somewhat difficult if you are traveling by public transit.  You are going to have to go to Bathurst Station, take a bus north for quite awhile and then walk a bit to get to where you want to go.  For this one event, if you are interested in attending it, a taxi ride or a two-day car rental might be a better idea.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Event Name: 2008 Green Reel Environmental Film Festival

Event Location: City Playhouse Theatre

Event Dates: January 4th and 5th

Event Times: Both days 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM

More Info: Call 905-882-7469 or click here

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Bernie German is one of the most delightful musicians around in my opinion, because he is very energetic in the way that he sings.  Children from all over love his singing and this is true even to the extent that people that are in Toronto as families touring the city sometimes choose to carve out time to go and see one of his performances.

Well, he is performing on the 29th at the North York Central Library in what is being officially termed a family concert and sing-a-long session.  The tickets for the event are completely free, so if you have children that love singing along to different songs, bring them to the North York Central Library at 10:30 am on December 29th to get their tickets for the concert that starts half an hour later at 11:00 AM.

The North York Central Library is very easy to get to by TTC.  All you have to do to get to it is simply take the yellow subway line to North York Centre Station and then from there simply follow the signs into North York Centre, with the library being located within the actual shopping centre itself.

Event: Canada’s Singing Cowboy Concert and Sing-a-Long

Location: North York Central Library (5120 Park Home Avenue)

Time: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, tickets available at 10:30 AM from the Children’s desk

Cost: Free

For More Information: 416-395-5535

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Christmas is a very fun time, regardless of whether you celebrate it or not.  You get the chance to be with your family, many of whom you may only see at that time.  You get the chance to watch television and eat chocolate as much as your heart desires.  And of course people that do celebrate the holiday get to have presents, sing Christmas Carols and everyone also gets the day off from work.  All in all, Christmas is a very fun time and if you are going to be in Toronto this evening you can help the Metropolitan Community Church celebrate Christmas by attending their Christmas Eve Service at Roy Thomson Hall.

The service itself will be attended by people from all walks of life within Toronto’s diverse cultural community and people will gather to listen to the singing of Christmas Carols as well as a special performance by Louise Pitre.  It’ll truly be a fun Christmas eve get together and if you enjoy that kind of Christmas spirit, then there are fewer places to get it better than with the Metropolitan Community Church at Roy Thomson Hall.  Tickets start at $10.

Roy Thomson Hall of course has appeared on The Toronto Traveler at least two or three times in the eighty or so posts that this blog has, but just in case you’re new to the blog, here is a map showing you exactly where Roy Thomson Hall is.  it is located on Simcoe Street, which you can reach by going west on King Street until you pass University Avenue.  It is right next to St. Andrew Subway Station however, so if you don’t feel like navigating streets you can simply take the subway to that station and follow all the signs pointing to Roy Thomson Hall.

Post from: The Toronto Traveler